Method of topologically restricted plasma-enhanced cyclic deposition of silicon or metal nitride

ABSTRACT

In an embodiment, a method for transferring a pattern constituted by vertical spacers arranged on a template with intervals to the template, includes depositing by plasma-enhanced cyclic deposition a layer as a spacer umbrella layer substantially only on a top surface of each vertical spacer made of silicon or metal oxide, wherein substantially no layer is deposited on sidewalls of the vertical spacers and on an exposed surface of the template, followed by transferring the pattern constituted by the vertical spacers to the template by anisotropic etching using the vertical spacers with the spacer umbrella layers.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/426,804, filed Nov. 28, 2016 under 35 USC 119(e), the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to a method of plasma-enhanced cyclic deposition, particularly a method of topologically restricted plasma-enhanced cyclic deposition, which is referred to as topology-enabling selective deposition or TESD, wherein a film is deposited selectively on a top surface between trenches. This technology is not considered to be ALD, but it was derived initially using a plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) apparatus, and thus, this technology was originally referred to as geography-enabling selective ALD or GESA. Since the inventor has used “GESA” to represent this technology, in this disclosure, the term “GESA” is used to refer to topology-enabling selective deposition. Also, in this disclosure, in relation to the present invention, the term “ALD” or “PEALD” refers to cyclic deposition in an apparatus suitable for ALD or PEALD, rather than referring to atomic layer deposition or plasma-enhanced ALD.

Description of the Related Art

As methods of depositing dielectric films on substrates, typically chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) are known. A skilled artisan often uses plasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) and plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD) to form dielectric films. PEALD is a deposition technology of dielectric films using chemisorption of precursors and can improve a step coverage of films depositing on recess patterns of substrates, as compared with PECVD. However, when depositing a dielectric film other than SiO film by PEALD on a recess pattern, where nitration or carbon substitution reaction is conducted in an atmosphere with plasma, the thickness of film deposited on a sidewall is sometimes small relative to the thickness of film deposited on a top surface. This problem may be caused by ion collision interfering with reaction speed on the sidewall as compared with that on a top or bottom surface. Particularly, nitration has a low rate of sidewall reaction as compared with oxidation, causing problems of thin film deposited on a sidewall, deterioration of film deposited on a sidewall, etc. Typically, the conformality (a ratio (percentage) of thickness of a SiN or SiCN film on deposited a sidewall to thickness of a film deposited on a top surface) of a film by PEALD in a recess pattern may be in a range of 60% to 90%. Although there are advantages of depositing a film having a high conformality, the present inventors have discovered significant advantages of depositing a film having a substantially zero conformality, i.e., substantially no film is deposited on a sidewall of a recess pattern, in a process of, e.g., pattern transfer and target etching using spacer-defined double patterning (SDDP), wherein by using a film as a hardmask deposited substantially only on a top surface of a vertical spacer, any possible preferential etch (which often occurs in certain crystallographic orientations) and loss of resolution during the process can effectively be avoided. The present inventors have conducted research to deposit a film having a substantially zero conformality in PEALD.

Any discussion of problems and solutions in relation to the related art has been included in this disclosure solely for the purposes of providing a context for the present invention, and should not be taken as an admission that any or all of the discussion was known at the time the invention was made.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Some embodiments provide a method for transferring a pattern constituted by vertical spacers arranged on a template with intervals to the template, comprising: depositing by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) a layer as a spacer umbrella layer substantially only on a top surface of each vertical spacer made of silicon or metal oxide, wherein substantially no layer is deposited on sidewalls of the vertical spacers and on an exposed surface of the template, followed by transferring the pattern constituted by the vertical spacers to the template by anisotropic etching using the vertical spacers with the spacer umbrella layers. Since the layer is deposited substantially only on the top surface of each vertical spacer while depositing substantially no layer on the sidewalls and the bottom of the recess pattern, the layer is a topologically restricted layer and can effectively serve as a spacer umbrella layer. Since substantially no layer is deposited on the sidewalls and the bottom, no additional process is required to remove such a layer from the sidewalls and the bottom before transferring the pattern to the template. The above PEALD is different from conventional PEALD because conventional PEALD is well known as a method for depositing a highly conformal film in a trench, whereas the above PEALD is, opposite to conventional PEALD, a method for depositing a non-conformal film, i.e., which has a conformality of substantially zero. Since the above PEALD deposits a topologically restricted film, the topologically restricted PEALD is referred to as topology-enabling selective deposition or GESA.

Other embodiments provide a method of depositing a film substantially only on a top surface of a substrate having a recess pattern constituted by a bottom and sidewalls by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) cycles, each cycle of which comprises: (i) supplying a precursor with a carrier gas through a bottle containing the precursor in a liquid state to a reaction space in which the substrate is placed, without applying RF power to the reaction space, said precursor containing multiple elements besides hydrogen, wherein a vapor pressure in the bottle is about 30 mmHg or higher; and (ii) applying RF power to the reaction space without supplying the precursor, thereby depositing a topologically restricted layer substantially only on the top surface of the substrate wherein substantially no layer is deposited on the sidewalls and the bottom of the recess pattern.

As discussed above, although GESA stands for topology-enabling selective ALD, GESA is by nature not ALD because GESA enables a film to deposit selectively or substantially only on a top surface of a recess pattern, i.e., substantially zero conformality (a ratio of film thickness at sidewalls to that at a top surface) of the film, as compared with conventional ALD which enables a highly conformal film to deposit nearly uniformly in terms of thickness on all surfaces of a recess pattern. Further, unlike ALD, GESA has a CVD component. i.e., a thickness of a sublayer deposited per cycle is more than a thickness of an atomic layer, i.e., thicker than a thickness of precursor chemisorbed on a surface through a self-limiting adsorption process. Thus, in this disclosure, although the term “GESA” is used, GESA does not refer to an ALD process and may be referred to also as “topology-enabling selective deposition” (TESD). GESA is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be performed more generally by, for example, a method of topology-enabling selective deposition wherein a film is deposited selectively on a top surface of a substrate having a recess pattern constituted by a bottom and sidewalls in [article or plural] semiconductor fabrication layer, comprising, in sequence: (i) supplying a precursor to a reaction space in which the substrate is placed between electrodes, said precursor containing multiple elements including nitrogen in addition to a metal or metalloid atom; (ii) conducting purging of the reaction space only to the extent that a greater amount of precursor than an amount of precursor chemisorbed on the top surface of the substrate remains in a vicinity of the top surface of the substrate; and (iii) applying RF power between the electrodes while supplying a plasma-generating gas substantially devoid of H and O, to generate an ion-rich anisotropic plasma to which the substrate is exposed, thereby depositing a topologically restricted layer substantially only or selectively and predominantly on the top surface of the substrate wherein substantially no layer, or a substantially thinner than the topologically restricted layer, is deposited on the sidewalls and the bottom of the recess pattern. The unique features of GESA, e.g., highly non-conformal growth, are useful for many semiconductor fabrication processes such as those disclosed in this disclosure, for example, and a skilled artisan will appreciate such useful applications and will be capable of performing GESA in such applications based on this disclosure and through routine experimentation.

In addition, in some embodiments, the method further comprises, after step (iii), (v) exposing the topologically restricted layer obtained in step (iii) to an oxygen plasma in the reaction space to convert the topologically restricted layer which is a nitride-based, nitrogen-containing carbide-based, or carbonitride layer to an oxide-based layer. In combination with the above conversion process, GESA's applications are widely extended to various semiconductor fabrication processes.

For purposes of summarizing aspects of the invention and the advantages achieved over the related art, certain objects and advantages of the invention are described in this disclosure. Of course, it is to be understood that not necessarily all such objects or advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particular embodiment of the invention. Thus, for example, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention may be embodied or carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizes one advantage or group of advantages as taught herein without necessarily achieving other objects or advantages as may be taught or suggested herein.

Further aspects, features and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of this invention will now be described with reference to the drawings of preferred embodiments which are intended to illustrate and not to limit the invention. The drawings are greatly simplified for illustrative purposes and are not necessarily to scale.

FIG. 1A is a schematic representation of a PEALD (plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition) apparatus for depositing a dielectric film usable in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B illustrates a schematic representation of a precursor supply system using a flow-pass system (FPS) usable in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic process sequence of subatmospheric PEALD in one cycle according to an embodiment of the present invention using one precursor wherein a cell in gray represents an ON state whereas a cell in white represents an OFF state, and the width of each cell does not represent duration of each process.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing X-ray diffraction profiles of a GESA film according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a STEM photograph showing a cross sectional view of a GESA film deposited on trenches according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a STEM photograph showing a cross sectional view of a GESA film deposited on trenches according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a STEM photograph showing a cross sectional view of a GESA film deposited on trenches according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a STEM photograph showing a cross sectional view of a PEALD (incomplete GESA) film deposited on trenches according to a comparative example.

FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of pattern transfer and target etching (steps (a) to (j)) using spacer-defined double patterning (SDDP) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of deposition profiles of CVD in (a), PEALD in (b), modified PEALD (incomplete GESA) in (c), and GESA in (d) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of oxidation process by oxygen plasma wherein silicon/metal nitride in (a) is converted to silicon/metal oxide according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a STEM photograph showing a cross section view of a GESA film deposited on a substrate with trenches according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a STEM photograph showing a cross section view of the GESA film shown in FIG. 11 upon exposure to an oxygen plasma according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 shows XPC spectra of a GESA film prior to exposure to oxygen plasma (GESA POR), upon exposure to oxygen plasma using an RF power of 400 W (TS-SiO 400 W), and upon exposure to oxygen plasma using an RF power of 100 W (TS-SiO 100 W) according to embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a schematic representation of application of a GESA film in formation of dummy gate recesses in which (a) shows a problem without a GESA film and (b) shows an advantageous effect by a GESA film according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

In this disclosure, “gas” may include vaporized solid and/or liquid and may be constituted by a single gas or a mixture of gases, depending on the context. Likewise, an article “a” or “an” refers to a species or a genus including multiple species, depending on the context. In this disclosure, a process gas introduced to a reaction chamber through a showerhead may be comprised of, consist essentially of, or consist of a silicon-containing precursor and an additive gas. The additive gas may include a reactant gas for nitriding and/or carbonizing the precursor, and an inert gas (e.g., noble gas) for exciting the precursor, when RF power is applied to the additive gas. The inert gas may be fed to a reaction chamber as a carrier gas and/or a dilution gas. In this disclosure, no reactant gas for oxidizing the precursor is used. Further, in some embodiments, no reactant gas is used, and only noble gas (as a carrier gas and/or a dilution gas) is used. The precursor and the additive gas can be introduced as a mixed gas or separately to a reaction space. The precursor can be introduced with a carrier gas such as a rare gas. A gas other than the process gas, i.e., a gas introduced without passing through the showerhead, may be used for, e.g., sealing the reaction space, which includes a seal gas such as a rare gas. In some embodiments, the term “precursor” refers generally to a compound that participates in the chemical reaction that produces another compound, and particularly to a compound that constitutes a film matrix or a main skeleton of a film, whereas the term “reactant” refers to a compound, other than precursors, that activates a precursor, modifies a precursor, or catalyzes a reaction of a precursor, wherein the reactant may provide an element (such as N, C) to a film matrix and become a part of the film matrix, when RF power is applied. The term “inert gas” refers to a gas that excites a precursor when RF power is applied, but unlike a reactant, it does not become a part of a film matrix.

In some embodiments, “film” refers to a layer continuously extending in a direction perpendicular to a thickness direction substantially without pinholes to cover an entire target or concerned surface, or simply a layer covering a target or concerned surface. In some embodiments, “layer” refers to a structure having a certain thickness formed on a surface or a synonym of film or a non-film structure. A film or layer may be constituted by a discrete single film or layer having certain characteristics or multiple films or layers, and a boundary between adjacent films or layers may or may not be clear and may be established based on physical, chemical, and/or any other characteristics, formation processes or sequence, and/or functions or purposes of the adjacent films or layers. Further, in this disclosure, any two numbers of a variable can constitute a workable range of the variable as the workable range can be determined based on routine work, and any ranges indicated may include or exclude the endpoints. Additionally, any values of variables indicated (regardless of whether they are indicated with “about” or not) may refer to precise values or approximate values and include equivalents, and may refer to average, median, representative, majority, etc. in some embodiments. Further, in this disclosure, the terms “constituted by” and “having” refer independently to “typically or broadly comprising”, “comprising”, “consisting essentially of”, or “consisting of” in some embodiments. In this disclosure, any defined meanings do not necessarily exclude ordinary and customary meanings in some embodiments.

In the present disclosure where conditions and/or structures are not specified, the skilled artisan in the art can readily provide such conditions and/or structures, in view of the present disclosure, as a matter of routine experimentation.

In all of the disclosed embodiments, any element used in an embodiment can be replaced with any elements equivalent thereto, including those explicitly, necessarily, or inherently disclosed herein, for the intended purposes. Further, the present invention can equally be applied to apparatuses and methods.

The embodiments will be explained with respect to preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments.

In some embodiments, a method for transferring a pattern constituted by vertical spacers arranged on a template (typically constituted by amorphous carbon (a-C) prepared by a spin-on or CVD process) with intervals to the template, comprises: depositing by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) a layer as a spacer umbrella layer substantially only on a top surface of each vertical spacer made of silicon oxide or metal oxide (e.g., TiO₂), wherein substantially no layer is deposited on sidewalls of the vertical spacers and on an exposed surface of the template, followed by transferring the pattern constituted by the vertical spacers to the template by anisotropic etching (e.g., reactive ion etch, RIE) using the vertical spacers with the spacer umbrella layers.

In the disclosure, “substantially zero” or the like may refer to an immaterial quantity, less than a detectable quantity, a quantity that does not materially affect the target or intended properties, or a quantity recognized by a skilled artisan as nearly zero, such as less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 1%, or any ranges thereof relative to the total or the referenced value in some embodiments. For example, when a film having a thickness of 10 nm is deposited on a top surface, and substantially no film is deposited on sidewalls, a thickness of a film deposited on sidewalls may be less than 1 nm, less than 0.5 nm, less than 0.1 nm, or any ranges therebetween. In the disclosure, “substantially thinner”, “substantially short”, or the like may refer to a material difference or a difference recognized by a skilled artisan such as those of at least 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%. or any ranges thereof in some embodiments. For example, when a film having a thickness of 10 nm is deposited on a top surface, and a substantially thinner layer than the film is deposited on sidewalls, a thickness of a film deposited on sidewalls may be at most 7 nm, at most 6 nm, at most 5 nm, at most 4 nm, at most 3 nm, at most 2 nm, at most 1 nm, or any ranges therebetween. Also, for example, when purging is complete for 1 second to sufficiently remove excess gas, non-reacted gas, and by-products from a target area, and substantially short purging is conducted, a duration of such short purging may be at most 0.7 sec., at most 0.6 sec., at most 0.5 sec., at most 0.4 sec., at most 0.3 sec., at most 0.2 sec., at most 0.1 sec., or any ranges therebetween. Further, in the disclosure, “substantially the same”, “substantially uniform”, or the like may refer to an immaterial difference or a difference recognized by a skilled artisan such as those of less than 10%, less than 5%, less than 1%, or any ranges thereof in some embodiments.

Since the spacer umbrella as a hardmask has high etch selectivity against the underlying template, the vertical spacer can be short and thus can be sustained during etching to transfer the pattern to the template. In some embodiments, a height of the vertical spacer is in a range of 3 nm to 60 nm, typically about 5 nm to about 40 nm. In some embodiments, a thickness of the spacer umbrella layer is in a range of about 1 nm to about 15 nm, typically about 3 nm to about 8 nm. In some embodiments, the spacer umbrella layer is constituted by amorphous silicon carbon nitride. In some embodiments, the template is constituted by amorphous carbon. In some embodiments, the vertical spacers are produced by spacer-defined double patterning (SDDP).

In some embodiments, for the topologically restricted PEALD or topology-enabling selective PEALD (GESA), each interval between adjacent vertical spacers must be less than a predetermined distance. In this disclosure, a recess between adjacent vertical spacers and any other recess pattern are referred to as a “trench”. That is, the trench is any recess pattern including a pattern formed by vertical spacers and which has, in some embodiments, a width of about 20 nm to about 100 nm (typically about 30 nm to about 50 nm) (wherein when the trench has a length substantially the same as the width, it is referred to as a hole/via, and a diameter thereof is about 20 nm to about 100 nm), a depth of about 30 nm to about 100 nm (typically about 40 nm to about 60 nm), and an aspect ratio of about 2 to about 10 (typically about 2 to about 5). The proper dimensions of the trench may vary depending on the process conditions, film compositions, intended applications, etc.

In the above, if the width of the trench is too wide, GESA becomes incomplete, and an incomplete GESA film may naturally start depositing on a bottom surface of the trench, and thus, in theory (without limiting the invention), the width of the trench may be selected such that a non-conformal deposition profile of CVD can be pronounced as described below. In non-limiting theory, GESA can be complete under conditions where a non-conformal deposition profile of CVD can be pronounced, an anisotropic plasma is applied, and an etching/sputtering profile can be pronounced. Under certain conditions of GESA, the above phenomenon can be enhanced and promoted to deposit substantially no film on sidewalls and a bottom surface.

FIG. 9 is a schematic representation of deposition profiles of CVD in (a), PEALD in (b), modified PEALD (incomplete GESA) in (c), and GESA in (d) according to an embodiment of the present invention. When a trench is narrow, a mushroom-shaped grow is a typical deposition profile of CVD including cyclic CVD as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 9 wherein when a film 102 is deposited on a substrate 101 with trenches, a top portion thereof deposited on a top surface is thick, a side portion thereof deposited on sidewalls is thinner than the top portion and becoming thinner toward a bottom of the trench, and a bottom portion thereof deposited on a bottom surface is thin or barely detected or undetectable. In CVD, reactive species of precursor excited in a gas phase do not sufficiently reach the bottom of the narrow trench. In PEALD, a conformal grow is a typical deposition profile as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 9 wherein when a film 103 is deposited on a substrate 101 with trenches, a top portion thereof deposited on a top surface, a side portion thereof deposited on sidewalls, and a bottom portion thereof deposited on a bottom surface are topologically conformal. In PEALD, unlike CVD, a film is formed by surface reaction, wherein precursor molecules are absorbed on all surfaces of the trench and saturated where the amount of adsorbed precursor molecules is independent of the precursor exposure after saturation (i.e., self-limiting adsorption reaction process). After purging, the absorbed precursor molecules are exposed to a reactant gas, followed by exposure to a plasma, causing surface reaction to form a film. When an anisotropic plasma such as Ar plasma is used, the plasma does not sufficiently reach the sidewalls of the trench. It is well known that plasma compositions are complex, composed of many different species among charged (ions) or neutral (atoms and radicals). It is commonly accepted that in plasma, ions species are responsible for highly anisotropic growth and are responsible for so-called “ion bombardment”. Ar plasma, for example, is mostly composed of ions with very few radicals, so that an Ar plasma process typically has very poor conformality and presents a deposition profile illustrated in (c) of FIG. 9 (modified PEALD or incomplete GESA) wherein a top portion thereof deposited on a top surface is thick, a side portion thereof deposited on sidewalls is thin or barely detected or undetectable, and a bottom portion thereof deposited on a bottom surface is thick. On the sidewalls, insufficient ion bombardment occurs, while bombardment sufficiently reaches the top and bottom surfaces.

In contrast, a deposition profile of GESA is illustrated in (d) of FIG. 9 wherein a top portion thereof deposited on a top surface is thick, a side portion thereof deposited on sidewalls and a bottom portion thereof deposited on a bottom surface are thin or barely detected or undetectable. In non-limiting theory, GESA occurs where a non-conformal deposition profile of CVD can be pronounced, an anisotropic plasma is applied, and an etching/sputtering profile can be pronounced. That is, for example, when increasing vapor pressure of a precursor by raising the temperature of a bottle storing the precursor in liquid form to the extent that a high amount of precursor which is much more than an amount for saturation (the dose may be at least one order of magnitude higher than that for saturation) is supplied, so that purging becomes insufficient to remove all precursor gas. Residual precursor gas present in a gas phase may cause CVD-like deposition wherein a mushroom profile is more pronounced. Further, residual precursor gas may lower the mean free path of ions (e.g., Ar ions contained in a plasma), thereby rendering ions more difficult to reach the bottom surface of the trench (less ion bombardment at the bottom of the trench). The mean free path can be defined as follows (simplified as a mean distance per collision):

$\frac{1}{\pi\; d^{2}n_{v}}$ wherein d is a diameter of a molecule, and n_(v) is the number of molecules per unit volume. That is, the mean free path of ions becomes short when the number of molecules per volume increases. The diameter of precursor molecules is significantly larger than that of Ar ions, for example, and residual precursor molecules hovering like a cloud will significantly shorten the mean free path of ions. Also, by increasing the process pressure, n_(v) is increased, thereby shortening the mean free path of ions. As a result, in GESA, film formation on the bottom surface of the trench is effectively suppressed, thereby depositing substantially no film on the bottom surface of the trench, while film formation progresses on the top surface of the trench (residual precursor molecules above the top surface may contribute to film formation, and thus, when prolonging the duration of RF power application in GESA, the growth rate per cycle can be increased, unlike conventional PEALD). In order to keep residual precursor molecules over the substrate, one of the effective parameters is increasing partial pressure of precursor, i.e., increasing vapor pressure of the precursor, rather than prolonging the duration of precursor pulse. Further, the use of anisotropic plasma prevents a film from depositing on the sidewalls of the trench as described above.

In addition, in non-limiting theory, etching/sputtering effect may contribute to the GESA deposition profile. Considering that Ar ion beam can be used for sputtering, Ar ions contained in a plasma may sputter some of the deposited film away. In typical GESA, the growth rate of deposited film is very low (e.g, GESA process generally has very low growth rate, e.g., 0.06-0.1 angstrom per cycle), and the sputtering may contribute thereto. Further, such sputter effect may be more pronounced for low density films (e.g, GESA film is constituted by 50% carbon and 20% hydrogen, or a low-density (20% H₂) a-C film with Si and N contaminants). In some embodiments, sputtering by Ar plasma bombardment may be manipulated in the following manner: (Dt−St)>(Db−Sb)≥(Ds−Ss) wherein Dt, Db, and Ds represent deposition rate at the top surface, at the bottom surface, and at the sidewalls of a trench, respectively, and St, Sb, and Ss represent sputtering rate at the top surface, at the bottom surface, and at the sidewalls of a trench, respectively. In some embodiments, Sb>Db, and Ss>Ds. Further, reaction by-products of precursor and Ar plasma may contribute to GESA deposition profile. Due to the compositions of precursor including Si, N, C, and H, for example, some H ions/radicals are generated during plasma exposure. When GESA film is constituted by mainly a-C, such carbon film is highly susceptible to attack by H species (volatile product). Therefore, to further optimize the top-selective profile, in some embodiments, etching effect may be manipulated in the following manner: (Dt−Et)>(Db−Eb)>(Ds−Es) wherein Dt, Db, and Ds represent deposition rate at the top surface, at the bottom surface, and at the sidewalls of a trench, respectively, and Et, Eb, and Es represent etching rate by excited by-products at the top surface, at the bottom surface, and at the sidewalls of a trench, respectively. In some embodiments, Eb>Db, and Es>Ds. The dose of precursor, the degree of purging, the duration of plasma, process pressure, and inert gas flow are amongst the critical parameters to optimize GESA deposition profile.

In some embodiments, the thickness of a GESA film deposited on the top surface of a trench is selected as a function of the width of the trench, in order to deposit the film substantially only on the top surface (substantially no film on the bottom surface and the sidewalls). For example, when the width of the trench (W) is about 6 nm, the thickness of the film on the top surface (T) may be less than about 9 nm, typically about 7 nm or less, whereas when the width of the trench (W) is about 3 nm, the thickness of the film on the top surface (T) may be less than about 18 nm, typically about 14 nm or less, wherein T (nm)×W (nm) may be less than about 54, typically 42 or less.

In another aspect of the invention, some embodiments provide a method of depositing a film substantially only on a top surface of a substrate having a recess pattern constituted by a bottom and sidewalls by plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) cycles, each cycle of which comprises: (i) supplying a precursor with a carrier gas through a bottle containing the precursor in a liquid state to a reaction space in which the substrate is placed, without applying RF power to the reaction space, said precursor containing multiple elements besides hydrogen, wherein a vapor pressure in the bottle is about 30 mmHg or higher; and (ii) applying RF power to the reaction space without supplying the precursor, thereby depositing a topologically restricted layer substantially only on the top surface of the substrate wherein substantially no layer is deposited on the sidewalls and the bottom of the recess pattern.

In some embodiments, no reactant is supplied to the reaction space throughout the PEALD cycles, and only a carrier gas (preferably Ar) is used for plasma reaction. Since the precursor contains multiple elements besides hydrogen, no reactant is required to deposit a GESA film. In some embodiments, the precursor is any suitable precursor containing multiple elements besides hydrogen in its molecule, since no reactant is used. In some embodiments, the precursor contains silicon/metal, nitrogen, carbon, and hydrogen. In some embodiments, the precursor contains a metal such as Ti, Zr, Co, W, Ta, Hf, and/or Nb in place of silicon or in addition to silicon. In some embodiments, the precursor is an alkylaminosilane. In some embodiments, the alkylaminosilane is selected from the group consisting of bisdiethylaminosilane (BDEAS), bisdimethylaminosilane (BDMAS), hexylethylaminosilane (HEAD), tetraethylaminosilane (TEAS), tert-butylaminosilane (TBAS), bistert-butylaminosilena (BTBAS), bisdimethylaminodimethylaminosilane (BDMADMS), heptametyhlsilazane (HMDS), trimethysylyldiethlamine (TMSDEA), trimethylsyledimethlamine (TMSDMA), trimethyltoribinylcycletrisilazane (TMTVCTS), tristrimetylhydroxyamine (TTMSHA), bisdimethylsaminomethylsilane (BDMAMS), and dimetyhlsilyldimethlamine (DMSDMA). The precursor can be constituted by a single precursor or a mixture of two or more precursors.

In some embodiments, an alkylaminosilane precursor is supplied from a reservoir or bottle to the reaction chamber for GESA of an amorphous silicon carbon nitride layer. The alkylaminosilane precursor is typically (but not necessarily) liquid at room temperature, and when vaporization of the precursor is required upstream of the reaction chamber, the precursor is vaporized in a reservoir or bottle equipped with a heater. The quantity of the precursor supplied to the reaction chamber is determinable based on the vapor pressure of the precursor discharging from the reservoir, which vapor pressure is determined by the temperature of the reservoir. In some embodiments, the temperature of the reservoir is higher for GESA of an amorphous silicon carbon nitride layer (e.g., about 70° C. to about 100° C. for BDEAS, typically around 80° C., for example) than the temperature of the reservoir for PEALD of a silicon oxide layer (e.g., about 20° C. to about 60° C. for BDEAS, for example). The saturated vapor pressure of BDEAS, for example, is 30 mmHg at 70° C., and thus, for GESA, a vapor pressure of 30 mmHg or higher (e.g., 35 mmHg or higher) may be required so as to supply a certain dose of the precursor to a reaction space. The dose of a precursor at 80° C., for example, may be at least one digit higher than that of the precursor at 60° C., for example. It is surprising that a vapor pressure of a precursor is one of the important process parameters for GESA because chemisorption of the precursor is controlled by self-limiting saturation adsorption in conventional ALD. For GESA, a dose of a precursor needs to be sufficiently high to block deposition of film at a bottom surface and sidewalls of a trench, although the thickness of film on a top surface is not significantly affected by the dose. The dose may affect generation of an electromagnetic field at each top surface of a trench to suppress deposition of film at bottom and sidewalls of the trench. The dose may also be defined by bottle temperature, feed time, carrier gas flow, and dilution gas flow.

Further, in some embodiments, RF power is applied to the reaction space at about 50 W to about 1000 W per unit area (cm²) of the substrate (typically about 75. W/cm² to about 500 W/cm²). In some embodiments, RF power for GESA of an amorphous silicon carbon nitride layer is higher than or equivalent to that for PEALD of a silicon oxide layer, e.g., in a range of about 100 W to about 500 W for a 300-mm substrate (the W value can be converted to wattage per unit area of the substrate and applied to a substrate of different size). It is also surprising that when the duration of RF power application becomes longer, the growth rate per cycle (GPC) can significantly be increased (by over 50%), indicating that more precursor molecules are adsorbed on the substrate surface than via simple saturation adsorption, wherein applying RF power longer may contributes to CVD-like deposition using residual precursor molecules over the substrate although the theory does not limit the present invention. In view of the above, GESA has basic characteristics of typical ALD, but is fundamentally or chemically different from typical ALD.

In some embodiments, the carrier gas is supplied continuously to the reaction chamber through the PEALD cycles. In some embodiments, a dilution gas is continuously supplied to the reaction space throughout the PEALD cycles. As a carrier gas and a dilution gas, a noble gas such as Ar, He, Ne, Kr, and Xe can be used singly or in any combination of two or more.

In this disclosure, “continuously” refers to without breaking a vacuum, without interruption as a timeline, without any material intervening step, without changing treatment conditions, immediately thereafter, as a next step, or without an intervening discrete physical or chemical structure between two structures other than the two structures in some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the cycle further comprises purging the reaction chamber after step (i), and purging the reaction space after step (ii) in each cycle.

In some embodiments, the GESA layer is deposited on an underlying layer made of silicon oxide or metal oxide. In some embodiments, as the underlying layer, a SiO layer is deposited on a substrate having trenches by, for example, PEALD (such as that disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 14/977,291, filed Dec. 21, 2015 by the same applicant, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety). In some embodiments, a SiO layer is deposited using an alkylaminosilane as a precursor which is the same gas as that used in GESA for an amorphous silicon carbon nitride layer. In some embodiments, the underlying layer and the GESA layer are deposited continuously in the same reaction chamber.

In some embodiments, although a SiO layer has a conformality of 80% to 100%, a GESA layer deposited on the SiO layer and having a conformality of substantially zero can be realized, even though the SiO layer and the GESA layer are continuously deposited in the same reaction chamber. In theory (without limiting the invention), when the width of the trench is properly selected, by adjusting process conditions as described in this disclosure, ion bombardments at the bottom and sidewalls of the trench can be suppressed, and CVD-like deposition may partially occur, wherein residual precursor molecules over the substrate (by, e.g., insufficient purging and/or raised bottle temperature shortening the mean free path of ions) may block entry of incident ions included in a plasma into the trench, and anisotropic plasma may also lower ion bombardments at the sidewalls of the trench, thereby inhibiting deposition of a film on the sidewalls and the bottom surface of the trench. Under certain conditions of GESA, the above phenomenon can be enhanced and promoted to deposit substantially no film on sidewalls and a bottom surface.

Although a SiO layer is typically used, the underlying layer can be other dielectric films (preferably constituted by a material which can promote building up charges for GESA). Such dielectric film includes, but is not limited to, a low-k film constituted by SiC, SiCO, any doped-silicon glass, or organic polymer or silicon based polymer having a dielectric constant of about 1.9 to 5.0, typically about 2.1 to 3.0, preferably less than 2.5. In some embodiments, the dielectric film is formed in trenches or vias including side walls and bottom surfaces, and/or flat surfaces, by plasma-enhanced CVD, thermal CVD, cyclic CVD, plasma-enhanced ALD, thermal ALD, radical-enhanced ALD, or any other thin film deposition methods. Typically, the thickness of the dielectric film is in a range of about 50 nm to about 500 nm (a desired film thickness can be selected as deemed appropriate according to the application and purpose of film, etc.).

The embodiments will be explained with respect to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic continuous process sequence of GESA in one cycle according to an embodiment of the present invention wherein a cell in gray represents an ON state whereas a cell in white represents an OFF state, and the width of each cell does not represent duration of each process. In the sequence illustrated in FIG. 2, a precursor is supplied to a reaction space in a pulse (“Feed”) using a carrier gas which is continuously supplied, without applying RF power. Also, a dilution gas is continuously supplied to the reaction space. After “Feed”, the reaction space is purged (“Purge 1”) where no precursor is fed to the reaction space, while the carrier gas and the dilution gas are continuously fed to the reaction space, without applying RF power, thereby removing non-chemisorbed precursor and excess gas from the surface of the substrate. Thereafter, a plasma for deposition is generated by applying RF power (“RF”) in a pulse (“RF”) in situ in the carrier gas and the dilution gas that flow continuously throughout the deposition cycle, without feeding the precursor, thereby forming a monolayer. After “RF”, the reaction space is purged (“Purge 2”) where the carrier gas and the dilution gas are continuously fed to the reaction space, without feeding the precursor and without applying RF power to the reaction space, thereby removing by-products and excess gas from the surface of the substrate. Due to the continuous flow of the carrier gas entering into the reaction space as a constant stream into which the precursor is injected intermittently or in pulses, and due to the continuous flow of the dilution gas, purging can be conducted efficiently to remove excess gas and by-products quickly from the surface of the layer, thereby efficiently continuing multiple PEALD cycles.

In GESA, although by the nature of ALD, a monolayer of a precursor is formed on all surfaces including a top surface, sidewalls, and a bottom surface of a trench, since a plasma does not reach the portion of the monolayer formed on the sidewalls and the bottom surface of the trench, substantially no film is formed on the sidewalls and the bottom surface of the trench, and the portion of the monolayer is removed by the purging.

In FIG. 2, the precursor is provided with the aid of the carrier gas. Since ALD is a self-limiting adsorption reaction process, the number of deposited precursor molecules is determined by the number of reactive surface sites and is independent of the precursor exposure after saturation, and a supply of the precursor is such that the reactive surface sites are saturated thereby per cycle. As mentioned above, each pulse or phase of each deposition cycle is preferably self-limiting. An excess of precursor is supplied in each phase to saturate the susceptible structure surfaces. Surface saturation ensures precursor occupation of all available reactive sites (subject, for example, to physical size or “steric hindrance” restraints). In some embodiments the pulse time of precursor can be reduced such that complete saturation is not achieved and less than a monolayer is adsorbed on the substrate surface.

The continuous flow of the carrier gas can be accomplished using a flow-pass system (FPS) wherein a carrier gas line is provided with a detour line having a precursor reservoir (bottle), and the main line and the detour line are switched, wherein when only a carrier gas is intended to be fed to a reaction chamber, the detour line is closed, whereas when both the carrier gas and a precursor gas are intended to be fed to the reaction chamber, the main line is closed and the carrier gas flows through the detour line and flows out from the bottle together with the precursor gas. In this way, the carrier gas can continuously flow into the reaction chamber, and can carry the precursor gas in pulses by switching the main line and the detour line. FIG. 1B illustrates a precursor supply system using a flow-pass system (FPS) according to an embodiment of the present invention (black valves indicate that the valves are closed). As shown in (a) in FIG. 1B, when feeding a precursor to a reaction chamber (not shown), first, a carrier gas such as Ar (or He) flows through a gas line with valves b and c, and then enters a bottle (reservoir) 20. The carrier gas flows out from the bottle 20 while carrying a precursor gas in an amount corresponding to a vapor pressure inside the bottle 20, and flows through a gas line with valves f and e, and is then fed to the reaction chamber together with the precursor. In the above, valves a and d are closed. When feeding only the carrier gas (noble gas) to the reaction chamber, as shown in (b) in FIG. 1B, the carrier gas flows through the gas line with the valve a while bypassing the bottle 20. In the above, valves b, c, d, e, and f are closed.

A skilled artisan will appreciate that the apparatus includes one or more controller(s) (not shown) programmed or otherwise configured to cause the deposition and reactor cleaning processes described elsewhere herein to be conducted. The controller(s) are communicated with the various power sources, heating systems, pumps, robotics, and gas flow controllers or valves of the reactor, as will be appreciated by the skilled artisan.

The process cycle can be performed using any suitable apparatus including an apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A, for example. FIG. 1A is a schematic view of a PEALD apparatus, desirably in conjunction with controls programmed to conduct the sequences described below, usable in some embodiments of the present invention. In this figure, by providing a pair of electrically conductive flat-plate electrodes 4, 2 in parallel and facing each other in the interior 11 (reaction zone) of a reaction chamber 3, applying HRF power (13.56 MHz or 27 MHz) 25 to one side, and electrically grounding the other side 12, a plasma is excited between the electrodes. A temperature regulator is provided in a lower stage 2 (the lower electrode), and a temperature of a substrate 1 placed thereon is kept constant at a given temperature. The upper electrode 4 serves as a shower plate as well, and reactant gas and/or dilution gas, if any, and precursor gas are introduced into the reaction chamber 3 through a gas line 21 and a gas line 22, respectively, and through the shower plate 4. Additionally, in the reaction chamber 3, a circular duct 13 with an exhaust line 7 is provided, through which gas in the interior 11 of the reaction chamber 3 is exhausted. Additionally, a transfer chamber 5 disposed below the reaction chamber 3 is provided with a seal gas line 24 to introduce seal gas into the interior 11 of the reaction chamber 3 via the interior 16 (transfer zone) of the transfer chamber 5 wherein a separation plate 14 for separating the reaction zone and the transfer zone is provided (a gate valve through which a wafer is transferred into or from the transfer chamber 5 is omitted from this figure). The transfer chamber is also provided with an exhaust line 6. In some embodiments, the deposition of multi-element film and surface treatment are performed in the same reaction space, so that all the steps can continuously be conducted without exposing the substrate to air or other oxygen-containing atmosphere.

In some embodiments, in the apparatus depicted in FIG. 1A, the system of switching flow of an inactive gas and flow of a precursor gas illustrated in FIG. 1B (described earlier) can be used to introduce the precursor gas in pulses without substantially fluctuating pressure of the reaction chamber.

A skilled artisan will appreciate that the apparatus includes one or more controller(s) (not shown) programmed or otherwise configured to cause the deposition and reactor cleaning processes described elsewhere herein to be conducted. The controller(s) are communicated with the various power sources, heating systems, pumps, robotics and gas flow controllers or valves of the reactor, as will be appreciated by the skilled artisan.

In some embodiments, a dual chamber reactor (two sections or compartments for processing wafers disposed closely to each other) can be used, wherein a reactant gas and a noble gas can be supplied through a shared line whereas a precursor gas is supplied through unshared lines.

In some embodiments, the GESA cycles may be conducted under the conditions shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE 1 (numbers are approximate) Conditions for GESA Substrate temperature 50 to 600° C. (preferably 75 to 300° C.) Wall temperature 50 to 200° C. (preferably 75 to 150° C.) Showerhead temperature 50 to 300° C. (preferably 100 to 250° C.) Bottle temperature 25 to 100° C. (preferably 25 to 80° C.) Bottle valve temperature 30 to 105° C. (preferably 30 to 85° C.) Electrode gap (a thickness of a 5 to 50 mm (preferably 8 to 20 mm) substrate is about 0.7 mm) Pressure 10 to 2000 Pa (preferably 100 to 500 Pa) Flow rate of carrier gas (continuous) 100 to 5000 sccm (preferably 1000. to 3000 sccm) Flow rate of precursor Corresponding to the flow rate of carrier gas Flow rate of dilution gas (continuous) 0 to 15000 sccm (preferably 0 to 6000 sccm) RF power (13.56 MHz) for a 300-mm 50 to 600 W (preferably 275 to 500 W) wafer Duration of “Feed” 0.05 to 10 sec. (preferably 0.3 to 1.5 sec.) Duration of “Purge 1” 0.05 to 10 sec. (preferably 0.1 to 1 sec.) Duration of “RF” 0.05 to 10 sec. (preferably 0.1 to 1.5 sec.) Duration of “Purge 2” 0 to 10 sec. (preferably 0.1 to 1 sec.) Duration of one cycle 0.3 to 40 sec. (preferably 0.5 to 1.5 sec.) Glow rate per cycle (nm/min) 0.003 to 0.1 (preferably 0.006 to 0.03) on top surface

The above indicated RF power for a 300-mm wafer can be converted to W/cm² (wattage per unit area of a wafer) which can apply to a wafer having a different diameter such as 200 mm or 450 mm.

In some embodiments, the thickness of the GESA film is in a range of about 3 nm to about 30 nm, typically about 5 nm to about 15 nm (a desired film thickness can be selected as deemed appropriate according to the application and purpose of film, etc., also depending on the width of the trench). Thus, in some embodiments, the cycle is repeated only until a thickness of the topologically restricted layer reaches the above desired thickness.

For GESA, typically, no reactant gas is used, and thus, unlike conventional ALD, after chemisorbing a precursor, no reactant is chemisorbed, wherein only a precursor and an inert gas plasma are used in some embodiments. Thus, strictly speaking, in the above embodiments, GESA is not ALD, although GESA is conducted using a PEALD apparatus.

The GESA layer can be used in various applications, including spacer-defined double patterning (SDDP). FIG. 8 is a schematic representation of pattern transfer and target etching using SDDP according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein a GESA film is used as a hardmask to transfer a pattern from a first template to a second template. An antireflective layer (ARL) 94 is used as the first template for increasing pattern density (e.g., pitch reduction) in SDDP processes. An etch hardmask 82 is used as the second template for etching a target layer 81. In step (a) in FIG. 8, on the antireflective layer 94 (constituted by e.g., amorphous carbon), a photoresist pattern 93 (constituted by e.g., Novolacs) is formed so that the antireflective layer 94 can be etched in the photoresist pattern in step (b) which is a step of transferring a pattern to the first template 94. In step (c), a metal oxide spacer 95 (constituted by e.g., silicon oxide) is deposited according to any of the disclosed embodiments or equivalents thereto, followed by etching in step (d) which is a spacer RIE (reactive ion etch) step. By stripping the material of the antireflective layer 94 (a photoresist material in the core portions 96), vertical spacers 84 are formed in step (e). Since the metal oxide spacer (95) has high etch selectivity, the antireflective layer 94 (the first template) for forming the spacer thereon can be thin and the metal oxide spacer can be sustained during etching to form the vertical spacers 84 (metal oxide spacer) in step (e). In some embodiments, the thickness of the antireflective layer is about 5 to 50 nm (typically 10 to 30 nm), and the thickness of the metal oxide layer is about 5 to 50 nm (typically 10 to 20 nm). In some embodiments, the thickness of the GESA film is about 2 to 15 nm (typically 3 to 8 nm). In step (f), a GESA film 72 is deposited selectively on the tops of the vertical spacers 84 as etch-resistant spacer umbrella. The topologically restricted PEALD enables top-selective deposition of the film.

In step (g), the pattern is transferred by etching from the vertical spacers 84 with the GESA film 72 to the second template 82 to form second vertical spacers 74, and in step (h), the first vertical spacers 84 are stripped. In step (i), a target layer 81 formed on a silicon substrate 70 is subjected to dry etch using the second vertical spacers 74. In step (j), the second vertical spacers 74 are stripped. In the above, by using the GESA film according to any of the disclosed embodiments or equivalents thereto as the etch resist spacer umbrella 72, the pattern can effectively and accurately be transferred from the first template 94 to the second template 82. Further, the GESA film can help preserve spacer integrity and improve resolution during the pattern transfer to the second template. In some embodiments, the antireflective layer, etch hardmask, metal oxide layer (spacer), and target layer may be deposited by any of the methods disclosed herein or equivalents thereof or by pulsed PECVD or PEALD.

The GESA film is resistant to not only HF, HCl, and TMAH wet etch, but also e.g. to BCl₃, BCl₃/Ar, dry etch, and thus, in step (g), when transferring the pattern to the second template 82, the GESA film helps the vertical spacers 84 to sustain the pattern. On the other hand, the GESA film is sensitive to oxidation, a combination of wet etch chemistry alternating oxidizing and HF (common in semiconductor processing), or dry etch based on oxygen or CF₄, for example, and thus, in step (h), the GESA film can effectively be stripped together with the metal oxide spacers 84.

GESA is not limited to the above-described embodiments and can be performed more generally by, for example, a method of topology-enabling selective deposition wherein a film is deposited selectively on a top surface of a substrate having a recess pattern constituted by a bottom and sidewalls in semiconductor fabrication, comprising, in sequence: (i) supplying a precursor to a reaction space in which the substrate is placed between electrodes, said precursor containing multiple elements including nitrogen in addition to a metal or metalloid atom; (ii) conducting purging of the reaction space only to the extent that a greater amount of precursor than an amount of precursor chemisorbed on the top surface of the substrate remains in a vicinity of the top surface of the substrate; and (iii) applying RF power between the electrodes while supplying a plasma-generating gas substantially devoid of H and O, to generate an ion-rich anisotropic plasma to which the substrate is exposed, thereby depositing a topologically restricted layer substantially only or selectively and predominantly on the top surface of the substrate wherein substantially no layer, or a substantially thinner layer than the topologically restricted layer, is deposited on the sidewalls and the bottom of the recess pattern. The unique features of GESA, e.g., highly non-conformal growth, are useful for many semiconductor fabrication processes such as those disclosed in this disclosure, for example, and a skilled artisan will appreciate such useful applications and will be capable of performing GESA in such applications based on this disclosure and through routine experimentation. Additional, alternative, or modified non-limiting embodiments of the present invention will be explained below in detail, in which any elements/conditions described in any embodiments disclosed above can be used in the embodiments described below in any combination to the full extent compatible and consistent with other elements used in the embodiments. In all of the disclosed embodiments, any element used in an embodiment can be replaced with any other element equivalent thereto, including those explicitly, necessarily, or inherently disclosed herein, as long as such changes are not contradictive.

In some embodiments, not only precursors containing silicon but also precursors containing metal can be used. Such metal can be at least one element selected from the group consisting of Ti, Zr, Hf, Ti, Ta, Nb, Si, Ge, Al, Co, W, Ru, Cu, Ni, V, Zn, and Pt, for example, and such precursors containing metal include, but are not limited to, SiH₄, Si₂H₆, GeH₄, WF₆, TiCl₄, HFCl₄, (CH₃)₃Al, (CH₃CH₂)₂Zn, Cp₂Ni, (EtCp)₂Ru, Cp₂Me₂Zr, (MeCp)(Me)₃Pt, Al(NMe₂)₃, Al₂(NMe₂)₆, Hf(NMe₂)₄, Hf(NEtMe)₄, Hf(NEt₂)₄, La[N(SiMe₃)₂]₃, Ta(NMe₂)₅, Ta(NEt₂)₅, Ta(NtBu)(NEt₂)₃, Ti(NMe₂)₄, Ti(NEtMe)₄, W(NtBu)₂(NMe₂)₂, Zn[N(SiMe₃)₂]₂, Zr(NMe₂)₄, Zr(NEtMe)₄, Zr(NEt₂)₄, V(NEt₂)₄, Co(iPr-amd), Co(tBuEt-amd)₂, Cu₂(iPr₂-amd)₂, Ni(tBu₂-amd)₂, Cu₂(sBu₂-amd)₂, Ti(iPr₂-amd)₃, V(Et₂-amd)₃, V(iPr₂-amd)₃, Hf(Me₂-pmd)₄, and Hf(Me₂-bmd)₄. As discussed in this disclosure, the following two features contribute to the mechanism of the topologically restricted deposition or the top selective deposition by GESA:

a) A manifested CVD component (e.g., incomplete or substantially short purging) which leads to highly non-conformal growth.

b) A highly anisotropic plasma which is substantially devoid of radicals (e.g., no O₂- or H-containing gas flows through a chamber as a plasma-generating gas), leading to deposition of film which is substantially thin on sidewalls (if O or H, if any (preferably none), is contained in a depositing film, the only source of O or H should be included in a precursor).

The GESA principle can be applied not only to a silicon-containing precursor but also a metal-containing precursor such as Ti(NCH₃)₄ as illustrated below. Ti(NCH₃)₄+Ar or He plasma→TiCN (topologically restricted)

Further, the post-deposition oxidation process disclosed in this disclosure can be applied as illustrated below. TiCN (topologically restricted)+O₂ plasma (post deposition)→TiO (topologically restricted)

In some embodiments, the topologically restricted layer is constituted by SiCN, SiN, TiCN, TiN, TaCN, or TaN.

In some embodiments, no reactant in addition to the plasma-generating gas is supplied to the reaction space throughout the deposition steps.

In some embodiments, in step (i), the precursor is supplied to the reaction space without applying RF power between the electrodes, and the method further comprises (iv) purging the reaction chamber immediately after step (ii), wherein steps (i) to (iv) are repeated only until a thickness of the topologically restricted layer reaches 1 nm to 100 nm.

In some embodiments, the plasma-generating gas is substantially devoid of H and O (such as NH₃, CO₂, etc.) but is constituted by Ar, He, and/or N₂ since such gas can generate an ion-rich, radical-poor anisotropic plasma. For the same reason, remote plasma is not suitable because remote plasma predominantly contains radicals. The ion-rich, radical-poor plasma can be defined as a plasma containing more ions than radicals derived from a plasma-generating gas, i.e., a ratio of ions to radicals is more than one, which can be determined using optical emission spectrometry (OES). For example, in the OES spectrum, one peak at 391 nm represents N₂ ⁺ ions, and another peak at 601 nm represents N₂* neutrals, wherein the ratio can be defined as as a ratio of OES ions (391 nm)/neutrals (601 nm). The ratio can vary as a function of chamber pressure and N₂/He gas mixture, wherein the plasma becomes more ionic when the pressure is below 10 m Torr and when the gas mixture is helium-rich (more helium than nitrogen), for example.

As an effective application of GESA, in some embodiments, the recess pattern is a pattern constituted by photoresist lines or vertical spacers arranged on a template with intervals, and in step (iii), the topologically restricted layer is deposited as an umbrella layer substantially only on a top surface of each photoresist line or each vertical spacer, wherein substantially no layer is deposited on sidewalls of the photoresist lines or the vertical spacers nor on an exposed surface of the template, followed by transferring the pattern constituted by the photoresist lines or the vertical spacers to the template by anisotropic etching using the photoresist lines or the vertical spacers with the umbrella layers. That is, the GESA film can be used not only as a spacer umbrella layer as described earlier but also as a resist umbrella layer. For example, the topologically restricted layer is deposited directly on the photoresist lines which are formed by EUV (Extrema Ultra Violet) photolithography. To correspond to miniaturization of semiconductor devices, a reduction of wavelength of light source for photolithography progresses, e.g., changing from ArF (Argon Fluoride laser) to EUV. However, a photoresist for EUV is seemingly weak. The GESA film can strengthen the EUV photoresist. Further, by depositing the GESA film on the EUV photoresist, the height of the photoresist can be increased, resulting in increasing pattern transfer resolution. In some embodiments, a thickness of the resist umbrella layer is in a range of 2 nm to 20 nm.

In some embodiments, for direct deposition of a GESA film on EUV photoresist, an Ar plasma (or a He plasma) for depositing the GESA film may not be desirable since heavy Ar atoms may cause damage to the EUV photoresist which is more fragile than ArF photoresist, for example. In that case, a N₂ plasma can be used in place of the Ar plasma, thereby depositing silicon nitride in place of silicon carbonitride, for example, as illustrated below: Alkylaminosilane+Ar plasma→SiCN (topologically restricted) Alkylaminosilane+N₂ plasma→SiN (topologically restricted)

By using a N₂ plasma in place of an Ar plasma for depositing a GESA film, damage to photoresist can be substantially suppressed or reduced. Process conditions using a N₂ plasma can be identical to those using an Ar plasma, except that Ar carrier and dilution gas is replaced with N₂ carrier and dilution gas although their flow rates can be identical.

As another effective application of GESA, in some embodiments, the recess pattern is a pattern constituted by a fin structure for a FinFET device, and in step (iii), the topologically restricted layer is deposited as a protective layer substantially only or selectively and predominantly on a top surface of each fin structure made of silicon oxide or metal oxide, wherein substantially no layer, or a substantially thinner layer than the topologically restricted layer, is deposited on sidewalls of the fin structure and on an exposed surface of the substrate.

FIG. 14 is a schematic representation of application of a GESA film in formation of dummy gate recesses in which (a) shows a problem without a GESA film and (b) shows an advantageous effect by a GESA film according to an embodiment of the present invention. In (a), in order to form a thin silicon Fin inversion channel on top of a substrate 201, which allows a gate to make two points of contact, i.e., the left and right sides of a Fin 203 (not shown), a dummy gate 207 initially covers the Fin 203 which is covered with a SiO liner 205 having a thickness of 2 nm, for example as illustrated in (a) of FIG. 14. Next, the dummy gate 207 is removed to form recesses by etching, thereby forming the Fin inversion channel. However, as illustrated in (a), by etching, the top of the SiO liner-covered Fin 203 is damaged, i.e., the properties of the channel are degraded. However, by forming a GESA film 209 selectively on top of the SiO liner-covered Fin 203 as illustrated in (b) of FIG. 14, during the etching process to form the dummy gate recess, the top of the SiO liner-covered Fin 203 can be effectively protected, avoiding deterioration of the channel.

As described above, a skilled artisan will appreciate the features of GESA and will be capable of applying GESA to various applications by utilizing the primary function of GESA to protect selectively the top of a particular feature not only in association with patterning but also with other semiconductor fabrication processes based on this disclosure through routine experimentation.

In addition, in some embodiments, the method further comprises, after step (iii) (i.e., after depositing a topologically restricted layer), (v) exposing the topologically restricted layer obtained in step (iii) to an oxygen plasma in the reaction space to convert the topologically restricted layer which is a nitride-based layer to an oxide-based layer. In combination with the above conversion process, GESA's applications are widely extended to various semiconductor fabrication processes. For example, when the GESA film is used as a non-sacrificial film, the GESA film as a SiCN film is very leaky, leading to detrimental effect on device performance. By converting it to a silicon oxide film, the film quality can significantly be improved. In another example in semiconductor fabrication processes, by converting the GESA film to an oxide film, dry etch rate selectivity of the film can be adjusted, wherein integration may become easier with the oxide film. In still another example, when fabrication requires wet etching by HF dipping to remove a layer, by converting the GESA film constituting the layer to an oxide layer, wet etching can effectively be performed since the GESA film as a SiCN film is normally not etched by a HF etching solution.

FIG. 10 is a schematic representation of oxidation process by oxygen plasma wherein silicon/metal nitride in (a) is converted to silicon/metal oxide according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, a GESA film 105 is deposited selectively on a top surface of a substrate 101 having trenches as illustrated in (a), and by exposing the GESA film 105 to an oxygen plasma, the GESA film can be converted to an oxide-based film 106 without significantly etching the GESA film as illustrated in (b).

In some embodiments, a thickness of the topologically restricted layer formed on the oxide-based underlying layer is reduced by the oxygen plasma treatment in step (v).

In some embodiments, the topologically restricted layer is deposited on an oxide-based underlying layer, wherein the topologically restricted layer is entirely converted to the oxide-based layer in step (v) so that there is substantially no detectable seam between the topologically restricted layer and the underlying layer. In one way to accomplish the above, in some embodiments, step (v) is conducted after every preset number of times of repeating steps (i) through (iii). In the above (cyclic exposure to an oxygen plasma), in some embodiments, a total thickness of the topologically restricted layer is more than 20 nm (preferably, 20 nm to 100 nm) upon step (v). Alternatively, in some embodiments, step (v) is conducted after completion of steps (i) through (iii) as a post-deposition treatment. In the above (single exposure to an oxygen plasma), in some embodiments, a total thickness of the topologically restricted layer is in a range of 2 nm to 20 nm (preferably, 5 nm to 15 nm) upon step (v). When the thickness of the topologically restricted layer exceeds 20 nm, oxidation by a plasma may not occur fully in an area deeper than 20 nm per one exposure to the plasma.

In some embodiments, conversion of a nitride-based GESA film to an oxide-based film can be performed using an oxygen plasma under conditions shown in Table 1A below.

TABLE 1A (numbers are approximate) Conditions for Plasma Oxidation Substrate temperature Same as in GESA process Pressure 150 to 3000 Pa, preferably 300 to 1000 Pa Flow rate of reactant 100 to 10,000 sccm (preferably 500 to 2,000 (continuous) sccm) for O₂; Other usable gas(es): CO₂, N₂O, O₃, H₂O₂ Flow rate of dilution 0 to 10,000 sccm (preferably 2000 to 8000 gas (continuous) sccm) for Ar; Other usable gas(es): He, N₂ RF power for a 300-mm 25 to 1000 W (50 to 400 W); Frequency: wafer 13.6 to 2,000 MHz Duration 1 to 300 sec. (preferably 5 to 60 sec.) Number of deposition 1 to 500 (preferably 5 to 20) cycle per oxidation cycle

The following tables show examples of combinations of GESA process and plasma oxidation process:

TABLE 1B (when using alkylaminosilane) Deposition with O₂ plasma carrier gas dilution gas treatment (if applicable*) (if applicable*) material material Ar Ar Si_(a)C_(b)N_(c) SiO₂ He He Si_(a)C_(b)N_(c) SiO₂ N₂ N₂ Si₃N₄ SiO₂

TABLE 1C (when using a metal alkylamide) Deposition with O₂ plasma carrier gas dilution gas treatment (if applicable*) (if applicable*) material material Ar Ar M_(a)C_(b)N_(c) M_(x)O_(y) He He M_(a)C_(b)N_(c) M_(x)O_(y) N₂ N₂ M_(a)N_(c) M_(x)O_(y) (C_(b))

TABLE 1D (when using a metal halide) Deposition with O₂ plasma carrier gas dilution gas treatment (if applicable*) (if applicable*) material material Ar Ar M_(a)X_(b) M_(x)O_(y) He He M_(a)X_(b) M_(x)O_(y) N₂ N₂ M_(a)X_(b)N_(c) M_(x)O_(y)

TABLE 1E (when using a metal alkoxide) Deposition with O₂ plasma carrier gas dilution gas treatment (if applicable*) (if applicable*) material material Ar Ar M_(a)C_(b)O_(c) M_(x)O_(y) He He M_(a)C_(b)O_(c) M_(x)O_(y) N2 N2 M_(a)C_(b)O_(c)N_(d) M_(x)O_(y)

In the above in Tables 1B to 1E, the carrier gas and dilution gas are indicated with a symbol * which means if these gases are used in deposition processes although these gases are not indispensable. If the metal precursor is initially gaseous or highly volatile liquid, no carrier gas is required, and also, dilution gas may be unnecessary if carrier gas is used.

The present invention is further explained with reference to working examples below. However, the examples are not intended to limit the present invention. In the examples where conditions and/or structures are not specified, the skilled artisan in the art can readily provide such conditions and/or structures, in view of the present disclosure, as a matter of routine experimentation. Also, the numbers applied in the specific examples can be modified by a range of at least ±50% in some embodiments, and the numbers are approximate.

EXAMPLES Example 1

A film was formed on a flat surface of a Si substrate (having a diameter of 300 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm) by GESA in order to determine properties of the film, using a sequence illustrated in FIG. 2, one cycle of which was conducted under the conditions shown in Table 2 (process cycle) below using the PEALD apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A and a gas supply system (FPS) illustrated in FIG. 1B. The carrier/dilution gas was used as a plasma-generating gas. Multiple films having different thicknesses were deposited for analyses (see Table 3). The deposited film was analyzed and exhibited the properties shown in Table 3 below.

TABLE 2 (numbers are approximate) Conditions for GESA Substrate temperature 300° C. Wall temperature 130° C. Showerhead temperature 150° C. Bottle temperature 80° C. Bottle valve temperature 85° C. Electrode gap (a thickness of a 9.3 mm substrate is about 0.7 mm) Pressure 400 Pa Carrier gas/Dilution gas Ar Flow rate of carrier gas (continuous) 2000 sccm Precursor BDEAS Flow rate of dilution gas (continuous) 2000 sccm Flow rate of precursor Corresponding to the flow rate of carrier gas RF power (13.56 MHz) for a 300-mm wafer 500 W Duration of “Feed” 0.3 sec. Duration of “Purge 1” 0.8 sec. Duration of “RF” 1.0 sec. Duration of “Purge 2” 0.1 sec. Duration of one cycle 2.2 sec. GPC (Å/cycle) 0.08

In the above, GPC was low in GESA, suggesting the presence of etching/sputtering effect described in this disclosure.

TABLE 3 (numbers are approximate) Properties Data Remark Uniformity (49 pt 5.85% @3.5 nm thick Hi/Lo var %) 4.6% @37 nm thick R.I @633 nm 2.06 @ 18 nm thick 1.92 @ 3.5 nm thick Dep rate (nm/min) 0.4 K-value @1.5K 2.973 J @2 MV/cm 0.50 BV @10E−3 A/cm2 ~3 (THK 6 nm) Stress (Mpa) −691 @35 nm thick Hermeticity limit 1 nm To HF on SiO₂ WER 0 nm/sec HF 0.5-2% Density (mass and 1.74-1.79 g/cm³ XRR) Roughness (XRR) <0.4 nm For films from 3.5 to 37 nm thick Haze 0.13 ppm @3.5 to 7 nm thick 0.223 ppm @18 nm thick

In Table 3, “Uniformity (49 pt Hi/Lo var %)” represents uniformity of thickness of the film measured at 49 points of the substrate, expressed as a difference (%) between highest thickness and lowest thickness; “R.I @633 nm” represents reflective index when using light having a wavelength of 633 nm; “Dep rate” represents growth rate per cycle; “K-value @1.5 K” represents dielectric constant at 1.5 Kelvin; “J @2 MV/cm” represents leakage current at 2 MV/cm; “BV @10E-3A/cm2 (THK 6 nm)” represents breakdown voltage at 10E-3A/cm²; “Hermeticity limit” represents minimum thickness exhibiting hermeticity when exposed to HF (measured according to the delta thickness observed after an HF dip of a SiO film coated with GESA, wherein the GESA film is considered to be hermetic if the delta thickness is 0 nm); “Haze” represents the haze value measured with a spectrophotometer, which is indicative of the film roughness; “WER” represents wet etch rate using a solution of 0.5 to 2% HF (diluted hydrogen fluoride); “Density” represents density measured using mass and X-ray reflectometry; and “Roughness” represents surface roughness measured using X-ray reflectometry.

In the above, RI of the film having a thickness of 18 nm and that of the film having a thickness of 3.5 nm were slightly different. This may be a metrology artifact due to the contribution of the underlying layer of native oxide (refractive index 1.4). As is evident from above, the GESA film was an electrically leaky material, but had 1 nm hermiticity (typically 1.5 nm or less) which is remarkably low in the sense that most conventional thin films have hermiticity between 2 and 5 nm due to island growth behavior. Further, the GESA film showed very high resistance to chemicals (typically, WER is zero or substantially zero nm/sec). The haze value number and roughness of the GESA film indicate that this film was rather smooth (typically a surface roughness of less than 0.5 nm), which is preferable for most applications. Because of the above distinctive properties of the GESA film, beside the topologically selective deposition capability, the GESA film demonstrated that it can be used for planar applications such as an ultrathin etch-stop later.

Further, the film was subjected to composition analysis by Time-of-flight Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (TOF-ERDA). The results are shown in Table 4 below. As shown in Table 4, the GESA film was constituted by SiCN.

TABLE 4 TOF-ERDA Si N C O H At. % 13.8 ± 1 10.3 ± 1 53.8 ± 2 1.2 ± 0.3 20.8 ± 4

Further, the film was subjected to crystallinity analysis using an X-ray diffractometer. FIG. 3 is a graph showing an X-ray diffraction profile (2 θ/θ method) of the GESA film, showing two peaks as indicated by arrows, which indicates that the GESA film was amorphous.

As is evident from above, the GESA film was a SiCN amorphous film. Although depending on the application, there are significant advantages to an amorphous material. For example, in patterning (using spacers and cores), the amorphous material can avoid any possible preferential etch and loss of resolution during the process (Preferential etch of certain crystallographic orientation is a well-known phenomenon in a crystalline material).

Example 2

GESA films were deposited under the conditions used in Example 1 except those shown in Table 5 below, to determine characteristics of GESA.

TABLE 5 feed purge RF-on purge GPC (s) (s) (s) (s) (Å/cycle) Ex. 1 GESA 0.3 0.8 1 0.1 0.08 no plasma 0.3 0.8 0 0.1 0 long feed (X5) 1.5 0.8 1 0.1 0.09 long plasma (X3) 0.3 0.8 3 0.1 0.13

As shown in Table 5, even when the duration of “feed” was five times longer than that in Example 1, the GPC (growth rate per cycle) was only slightly increased but was not significantly different, indicating that in GESA, like typical ALD, the precursor was chemisorbed by saturation on the substrate surface. Although by increasing the duration of “feed”, it appears that chemisorbed molecules formed an atomic layer having a thickness of slightly more than a mono-layer, since the dose of the precursor is mainly controlled by partial pressure of the precursor, the prolonged duration of “feed” has small impact on the film formation. However, when no RF power was applied, no film was deposited, since no reactant was used. On the other hand, when the duration of RF power application was 3 times longer than in Example 1, surprisingly, the GPC was significantly increased (by over 50%), indicating that CVD-like deposition occurred on the substrate surface, rather than simple self-limiting ALD deposition, when applying RF power longer which may have contributed to the CVD-like deposition using residual precursor gas present over the substrate (GESA used a bottle temperature (80° C.) much higher than that typically used for conventional PEALD, rendering purging insufficient) although the theory does not limit the present invention. Thus, GESA has basic characteristics of typical ALD, but is fundamentally or chemically different from typical ALD.

Example 3

A film was formed on a SiO₂ film-covered Si substrate (having a diameter of 300 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm) having narrow trenches with a width of approximately 30 nm and wide trenches with a width of approximately 75 nm, which had a depth of approximately 70 nm, by GESA under the conditions used in Example 1. The SiO₂ film was formed by PEALD with a thickness of about 13 nm on the substrate.

FIG. 4 is a STEM (Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope) photograph showing a cross sectional view of the GESA film deposited on the trenches. As shown in FIG. 4, the GESA film 42 was deposited on the top surfaces of the SiO₂ film 41 covering the narrow trenches, whereas substantially no GESA film was deposited on the sidewalls or the bottom 43 of the narrow trenches. The thickness of the GESA film at the center on each top surface (the highest thickness) was 5.95 to 6.6 nm (the thickness of the SiO₂ film was approximately 12 nm to 13 nm).

FIG. 5 is a STEM photograph showing a cross sectional view of the GESA film deposited on the trenches. As shown in FIG. 5, the GESA film 52 was deposited on the top surfaces of the SiO₂ film 51 covering the narrow and wide trenches, whereas substantially no GESA film was deposited on the sidewalls or the bottom of not only the narrow trenches but also the wide trenches (the thickness of the GESA film at the center on each top surface was approximately 7 nm).

FIG. 6 is a STEM photograph showing a cross sectional view of the GESA film deposited on the trenches. As shown in FIG. 6, the GESA film 62 was deposited on the top surfaces of the SiO₂ film 61 covering the narrow and wide trenches, whereas substantially no GESA film was deposited on the sidewalls or the bottom of not only the narrow trenches but also the wide trenches. The thickness of the GESA film at the center on each top surface (the highest thickness) was 8.3 to 10.8 nm (the thickness of the SiO₂ film was approximately 12 nm to 13 nm). The bottom surface of the trench having an inverse trapezoid shape in FIG. 6 shows a slightly fuzzy image, whereas that in FIG. 5 does not show such a fuzzy image, probably indicating that by reducing the thickness of the GESA film on the top surface of the trench by a certain degree, deposition of film on the bottom surface can be substantially completely inhibited. In any event, FIGS. 4, 5, and 6 show that no film was deposited on the sidewalls and the V- or U-shaped bottom surfaces. In non-limiting theory, GESA occurred due to residual precursor molecules over the substrate which contributed to shortening the mean free path of ions and suppressing ion bombardments at the bottom, resulting in a non-conformal deposition profile of CVD, due to the anisotropic plasma which suppressed ion bombardments at the sidewalls, and due to the etching/sputtering effect described in this disclosure.

Comparative Example

A film was deposited under the conditions used in Example 1 except that the bottle temperature was 60° C. FIG. 7 is a STEM photograph showing a cross sectional view of a PEALD film deposited on trenches according to this comparative example. As shown in FIG. 7, a film was deposited not only on the top surfaces of an underlying layer 71 covering the trenches, but also on the surfaces of the bottoms of the underlying layer 71 of the trenches having an inverse trapezoidal shape although deposition of film on sidewalls appeared to be restricted (only slightly and partially deposited film was observed at sidewalls), indicating that GESA was performed to a certain degree but full GESA was not performed. The film 72 deposited on the top surfaces and the film 73 deposited on the bottom surfaces had a thickness substantially similar to that of the thickness of the film deposited on the top surface in Example 1. It confirms that in order to perform full GESA, a certain saturated vapor pressure (that of BDEAS is 30 mmHg at 70° C.), i.e., a certain dose of the precursor is required. In non-limiting theory, when the partial pressure of the precursor is low enough for it to be fully purged after saturation, substantially no residual precursor molecules are left over the substrate, which shortens the mean free path of ions contained in a plasma, and thus, ion bombardments are not suppressed at the bottom of the trench, forming a film at the bottom. A film formed at the sidewalls was thin in this comparative example probably because Ar plasma which is anisotropic plasma was used.

Example 4

A SiCN film was formed by GESA on a flat surface of a Si substrate (having a diameter of 300 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm and covered with a SiO₂ liner film), using a sequence illustrated in FIG. 2, one cycle of which was conducted under the conditions shown in Table 6 (process cycle) below using the PEALD apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A and a gas supply system (FPS) illustrated in FIG. 1B. The carrier/dilution gas was used as a plasma-generating gas. The SiO₂ film was formed by PEALD with a thickness of about 13 nm on the substrate.

TABLE 6 (numbers are approximate) Conditions for GESA Substrate temperature 300° C. Wall temperature 120° C. Showerhead temperature 150° C. Bottle temperature room temp Bottle valve temperature room temp Electrode gap (a thickness of a 13 mm substrate is about 0.7 mm) Pressure 300 Pa Carrier gas/Dilution gas Ar Flow rate of carrier gas (continuous) 1000 sccm Precursor BDEAS Flow rate of dilution gas (continuous) 3000 sccm Flow rate of precursor Corresponding to the flow rate of carrier gas RF power (13.56 MHz) for a 300-mm wafer 100 W Duration of “Feed” 0.2 sec. Duration of “Purge 1” 0.4 sec. Duration of “RF” 1.5 sec. Duration of “Purge 2” 0.1 sec. Duration of one cycle 2.3 sec. GPC (Å/cycle) 0.7 Number of cycles 120   

FIG. 11 is a STEM photograph showing a cross section view of the GESA film deposited on the substrate with the trenches. As shown in FIG. 11, the GESA film (SiCN) 162 was deposited on the surfaces of the SiO₂ film 161 covering the narrow and wide trenches, wherein substantially no GESA film was deposited on the sidewalls or the bottom of the narrow trenches. On the other hand, a GESA film was deposited on each top surface of the trenches covered with the SiO₂ film 161, and also on the bottoms of the wide trench and U-shaped bottom surfaces although a GESA film on the bottoms was thinner than a GESA film on the top surface. In order to effectively inhibit deposition of a GESA film on a bottom of a trench, the trench needs to be narrow, e.g., a width of the trench should be <50 nm (in this case, the width of the trench was 62 nm). The thickness of the GESA film at the center on each top surface (the highest thickness) was 9.7 to 11.2 nm (the thickness of the SiO₂ film was approximately 9 nm to 10 nm), wherein the total thickness of the GESA film and the SiO₂ film at the center on each top surface was 19.7 nm to 20.2 nm in FIG. 11. The thicknesses of the GESA film at the bottom surface of the wide trench and U-shaped bottom surface were 7 nm (the thickness of the SiO₂ film was approximately 9.5 nm) and 3 nm (the thickness of the SiO₂ film was approximately 9 nm), respectively, wherein the total thicknesses of the GESA film and the SiO₂ film at the bottoms were 16.2 nm and 14.1 nm, respectively, in FIG. 11. FIG. 11 shows that substantially no GESA film was deposited on the sidewalls and the V-shaped bottom surfaces.

Next, the substrate with the trenches covered with the GESA film obtained in the same manner as that described above was exposed to an oxygen plasma in the same chamber under conditions shown in Table 7 below.

TABLE 7 (numbers are approximate) Conditions for Plasma Oxidation Substrate temperature Same as in GESA process Pressure 400 Pa Flow rate of reactant (continuous) 500 sccm of O₂ Flow rate of dilution gas (continuous) 2000 sccm of Ar RF power for a 300-mm wafer 100 W; Frequency: 13.56 MHz Duration 60 sec. Number of deposition cycle per 40 oxidation cycle

FIG. 12 is a STEM photograph showing a cross section view of the GESA film upon exposure to the oxygen plasma. As shown in FIG. 12, the distinction or contrast between the GESA film (SiCN) 162 and the SiO₂ film 161 substantially disappeared, yielding formation of an integrated single oxide film 163, i.e., no boundary therebetween was observed by STEM, indicating that SiCN was effectively converted to SiO (carbon-free) (although in theory, the distinction therebetween could be detected using HR-TEM (High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy) coupled with EELS (Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy)).

Also, as shown in FIG. 12, the GESA film was etched to a certain degree (approximately 50%, typically 10% to 70%) by being exposed to the oxygen plasma which trimmed or etched the GESA film due to the etching/sputtering effect of the plasma.

Examples 5 and 6

A SiCN film was deposited by GESA on a SiO liner-covered substrate in a manner substantially similar to that in Example 4, and then, a GESA film-deposited substrate was exposed to an oxygen plasma in a manner substantially similar to that in Example 4, except that the RF power was 400 W in Example 5 and 100 W in Example 6.

FIG. 13 shows XPC spectra of the GESA film prior to exposure to an oxygen plasma (GESA POR), upon exposure to oxygen plasma using an RF power of 100 W (TS-SiO 100 W) in Example 5, and upon exposure to oxygen plasma using an RF power of 400 W (TS-SiO 400 W) in Example 6 (the x-axis represents bonding energy eV). As shown in FIG. 13, after being exposed to the oxygen plasma, the GESA film (SiCN) was effectively converted to a SiO film, wherein both films obtained using an RF power of 100 W and an RF power of 400 W clearly showed formation of Si—O—Si bonds and dissociation of Si—N bonds and Si—H bonds, and the above tendencies were more manifested when the RF power was higher. Further, each film was subjected to composition analysis by Time-of-flight Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (TOF-ERDA). The results are shown in Table 8 below. As shown in Table 8, the GESA film (SiCN) was converted to SiO film in which no carbon nor nitrogen was detected (i.e., less than detectable level), whereas high levels of Si and O were detected.

TABLE 8 at % Si H O C N GESA SiO 100 W 35 2.5 62.5 0 0 GESA SiO 400 W 39.1 0.9 60 0 0 GESA 13 32 5 37 13

Further, each film was analyzed and exhibited the wet etch properties shown in Table 9 below.

TABLE 9 GESA_SiO_100 GESA_SiO_400 W W GESA_POR WERR (TOX) 7.9 2.1 0

“WERR (TOX)” represents wet etch rate using a solution of 0.5 to 2% HF (diluted hydrogen fluoride) relative to that of thermal oxide film.

As described above, by exposing the GESA-SiCN film to an oxygen plasma, the film can be converted to a SiO film, and the SiO quality or properties can be tuned according to the intensity of oxygen plasma.

Example 7

A SiN film was formed by GESA on a Si substrate (having a diameter of 300 mm and a thickness of 0.7 mm) having an EUV photoresist pattern provided on its surface, using a sequence illustrated in FIG. 2, one cycle of which was conducted under the conditions shown in Table 10 (process cycle) below using the PEALD apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1A and a gas supply system (FPS) illustrated in FIG. 1B. The carrier/dilution gas was used as a plasma-generating gas. The EUV photoresist pattern was formed by EUV laser lithography, which pattern had a width of approximately 20 nm, a height of approximately 35 nm, and a pitch of approximately 40 nm.

TABLE 10 (numbers are approximate) Conditions for GESA Substrate temperature 75° C. Wall temperature 75° C. Showerhead temperature 75° C. Bottle temperature 30° C. Bottle valve temperature 35° C. Electrode gap (a thickness of a 16 mm substrate is about 0.7 mm) Pressure 300 Pa Carrier gas/Dilution gas N₂ Flow rate of carrier gas (continuous) 550 sccm Precursor BDEAS Flow rate of dilution gas (continuous) 2000 sccm Flow rate of precursor Corresponding to the flow rate of carrier gas RF power (13.56 MHz) for a 300-mm wafer 50 W Duration of “Feed” 0.2 sec. Duration of “Purge 1” 0.1 sec. Duration of “RF” 1.5 sec. Duration of “Purge 2” 0.2 sec. Duration of one cycle 2 sec. GPC (Å/cycle) 1.6 Number of cycles 60  

STEM photographs (not shown) of cross section views of a SiN film deposited by GESA using a N₂ plasma on the photoresist pattern confirm that a GESA film was deposited predominantly on the top surfaces of the resist, wherein the GESA film had a thickness of approximately 7 nm at the centers on the top surfaces (the highest thickness), a thicknesses of approximately 3.7 nm at the centers of the bottom surfaces of the trenches (the highest thickness), and a thickness of approximately 2.7 nm at approximately midpoints of the sidewalls, and the total heights of the GESA film and the resist at the centers were approximately 40 nm, and the total widths of the GESA film and the resist at approximately midpoints of the sidewalls were approximately 22 nm.

Further, the film was subjected to composition analysis by Time-of-flight Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (TOF-ERDA). The results are shown in Table 11 below. As shown in Table 4, the GESA film was constituted by SiCN.

TABLE 11 (numbers are approximate) at % Si H O C N GESA-SiN 30.8 18 0 0 51 GESA (POR) 13 32 5 37 13

In the above, “GESA (POR)” refers to a regular GESA film using an argon plasma. As shown in Table 11, by using a nitrogen plasma in place of an argon plasma, the SiN film was effectively deposited (containing no detectable oxygen nor carbon).

As described above, by depositing a GESA film directly on a photoresist pattern, the strength of the resist can be increased (particularly, EUV photoresist is seemingly weak), and the height of the resist can be increased, so that pattern transfer resolution can be improved.

It will be understood by those of skill in the art that numerous and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Therefore, it should be clearly understood that the forms of the present invention are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. 

I claim:
 1. A method of topology-enabling selective deposition wherein a film is deposited selectively on a top surface of a substrate having a recess pattern constituted by a bottom and sidewalls in semiconductor fabrication, comprising, in sequence: (i) supplying a precursor to a reaction space in which the substrate is placed between electrodes, said precursor containing multiple elements including silicon or metal, carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen; (ii) conducting purging of the reaction space, without step (i), only to the extent that a greater amount of precursor than an amount of precursor chemisorbed on the top surface of the substrate remains in a vicinity of the top surface of the substrate; and then (iii) applying RF power between the electrodes while supplying a plasma-generating gas devoid of H and O, without step (i), to generate an ion-rich anisotropic plasma to which the substrate is exposed, thereby depositing a topologically restricted layer selectively and predominantly on the top surface of the substrate wherein substantially no layer, or a substantially thinner layer than the topologically restricted layer, is deposited on the sidewalls and the bottom of the recess pattern without becoming thinner toward the bottom of the recess pattern, wherein the topologically restricted layer is constituted by SiCN, SiN, TiCN, TiN, ZrCN, ZrN, HfCN, HfN, TaCN, TaN, NbCN, NbN, AlCN, AlN, CoCN, CoN, CuCN, CuN, WCN, WN, RuCN, RuN, NiCN, NiN LaCN, LaN, or WFN.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein no reactant in addition to the plasma-generating gas is supplied to the reaction space throughout the deposition steps.
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein a width of the recess pattern is less than 100 nm.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step (i), the precursor is supplied to the reaction space without applying RF power between the electrodes, and the method further comprises (iv) purging the reaction chamber immediately after step (iii), wherein steps (i) to (iv) are repeated only until a thickness of the topologically restricted layer reaches 1 nm to 100 nm.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the carrier gas and/or dilution gas are/is Ar, He, and/or N₂.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the recess pattern is a pattern constituted by photoresist lines or vertical spacers arranged on a template with intervals, and in step (iii), the topologically restricted layer is deposited as an umbrella layer selectively and predominantly on a top surface of each photoresist line or each vertical spacer, wherein substantially no layer, or a substantially thinner layer than the topologically restricted layer, is deposited on sidewalls of the photoresist lines or the vertical spacers nor on an exposed surface of the template, followed by transferring the pattern constituted by the photoresist lines or the vertical spacers to the template by anisotropic etching using the photoresist lines or the vertical spacers with the umbrella layers.
 7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the topologically restricted layer is deposited on the vertical spacers which are made of silicon oxide or metal oxide and are produced by spacer-defined double patterning (SDDP).
 8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the topologically restricted layer is deposited on the photoresist lines which are formed by EUV photolithography.
 9. The method according to claim 6, wherein a thickness of the umbrella layer is in a range of 1 nm to 15 nm.
 10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the recess pattern is a pattern constituted by a fin structure for a FinFET device, and in step (iii), the topologically restricted layer is deposited as a protective layer selectively and predominantly on a top surface of each fin structure made of silicon oxide or metal oxide, wherein substantially no layer, or a substantially thinner layer than the topologically restricted layer, is deposited on sidewalls of the fin structure and on an exposed surface of the substrate.
 11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising, after step (iii), (v) exposing the topologically restricted layer obtained in step (iii) to an oxygen plasma in the reaction space to convert the topologically restricted layer which is a nitride-based or carbonitride layer to an oxide-based layer.
 12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the topologically restricted layer is deposited on an oxide-based underlying layer, wherein the topologically restricted layer is entirely converted to the oxide-based layer in step (v) so that there is substantially no detectable seam between the topologically restricted layer and the underlying layer.
 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein a thickness of the topologically restricted layer formed on the oxide-based underlying layer is reduced by the oxygen plasma treatment in step (v).
 14. The method according to claim 11, wherein step (v) is conducted after every preset number of times of repeating steps (i) through (iii).
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein a thickness of the topologically restricted layer is more than 20 nm upon completion of step (v).
 16. The method according to claim 11, wherein step (v) is conducted after completion of steps (i) through (iii) as a post-deposition treatment.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein a thickness of the topologically restricted layer is in a range of 5 nm to 20 nm upon step (v). 